Video games are the most immersive medium there is.
They are a major step up from film in that the player is not just a silent observer but a necessary participant.
Sony's "Michael" ad, touting the apt tag line of 'Long Live Play', is a beautiful homage to the importance of the player.
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Video games, like all other technologies before them, are becoming more and more a part of our educational systems.
One could argue that they are the most important to date as their immersive nature leads to a very engaging experience which knocks down the wall between education and play.
And we do love to play.
'We're only human'
Games.
The word game is simple enough and has a simple meaning.
"game
/geɪm/
A form of competitive activity or sport played according to rules."
This activity or play is a natural occurrence in nature. Most intelligent creatures spend their youth playing.
Bear cubs roll around and climb trees.
Birds chase each other through the sky.
Our own species have countless forms of play.
The word game is simple enough and has a simple meaning.
"game
/geɪm/
A form of competitive activity or sport played according to rules."
This activity or play is a natural occurrence in nature. Most intelligent creatures spend their youth playing.
Bear cubs roll around and climb trees.
Birds chase each other through the sky.
Our own species have countless forms of play.
Large cats, such as lions, play by pouncing, enforcing a natural skill that is imperative to their survival.
Its how they learn.
We too learn through play.
The rules that the term 'Game' implies however, are a purely human trait.
The most frequent of these rules is an end game condition.
Its how they learn.
We too learn through play.
The rules that the term 'Game' implies however, are a purely human trait.
The most frequent of these rules is an end game condition.
For example the children's game of "Don't step on a crack " has the end game condition of "If you step on a crack you lose."
"The floor is lava " shares a similar end game.
Ask a lion if they have an end game definition such as "If I pounce on you I win". I dare you.
Wrestling is a form of play as old as time seen in a lot of animal species. Sometimes known as tussling or play fighting.
Like our animal cousins we wrestled in a playful manner back in our neanderthal youth.
Fast forward to the ancient Greek, and even the Egyptians before them, and suddenly there's a big difference.
There are rules.
There is a win condition.
It is no longer simple play but an intricate game.
"The floor is lava " shares a similar end game.
Ask a lion if they have an end game definition such as "If I pounce on you I win". I dare you.
Wrestling is a form of play as old as time seen in a lot of animal species. Sometimes known as tussling or play fighting.
Like our animal cousins we wrestled in a playful manner back in our neanderthal youth.
Fast forward to the ancient Greek, and even the Egyptians before them, and suddenly there's a big difference.
There are rules.
There is a win condition.
It is no longer simple play but an intricate game.
Types of game.
It is suggested that there are 2 types of games.
"Those that require special equipment and/or settings - and those that don't."
Examples of the former would be Chess, Go or Alea Evangelii, as they require a board and player controlled pieces, to play.
The latter would be games like Hide and Seek, I Spy and Charades as these need nothing more than the players themselves and the world around them.
It is suggested that there are 2 types of games.
"Those that require special equipment and/or settings - and those that don't."
Examples of the former would be Chess, Go or Alea Evangelii, as they require a board and player controlled pieces, to play.
The latter would be games like Hide and Seek, I Spy and Charades as these need nothing more than the players themselves and the world around them.
Gamification.
Gamification is defined as “the application of typical elements of game playing...to other areas of activity”. Humans have been using gamification in almost every aspect of life. From the postal services with stamp collecting, to the travel service with collecting travel stickers. You'll even find it in our books thanks to choose your own adventure novels. The area in which its most important however is our educational system. With Monopoly each family has its own "House rules". For my family it was "All taxes go on free parking and if you land on free parking you get the money". In much the same way schools seem to have their own 'House rules' in regards to their version of gamification. Some schools have homework passes, rewarded to a well behaved student, which they could exchange to become exempt from 1 days worth of homework. In others there are reward ceremonies to honour the hardest working students with medals and trophies as a reward. The simplest and most know of these however is the gold star system. It is a simple status symbol used to make a student feel good about themselves and the work they have done. This is one of the key uses of Gamification in education. To reward and to engage. If children are engaged then they want to learn. |
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Gamification has been and will always be a part of our educational system.
Part of its success is due to the technologies we use to teach.
Part of its success is due to the technologies we use to teach.
Technology in education is always evolving, just as it has done from the start, at an exponential rate.
From the introduction of paper and the printing press and lest we forget public education in the 1600's, Education began its long and interesting journey.
Next came Blackboards and chalk slates in the 1700's. Blackboards are still a staple of most classrooms.
Then books in the 1800's.
From the introduction of paper and the printing press and lest we forget public education in the 1600's, Education began its long and interesting journey.
Next came Blackboards and chalk slates in the 1700's. Blackboards are still a staple of most classrooms.
Then books in the 1800's.
That is three centuries worth of growth from some simple yet impossibly important technologies.
Then came the technological boom of the 1900's
Radio around 1910
Projectors around 1930
Overhead projector in the 1940's
Tv's in the 1950's-1960's
VCR's in the 1970's
Tape cassettes 1980's
One could argue that one of the most important innovations was the implementation of the computer on a large scale in the 1990's.
This was a game changer as it gave schools an all new and adaptive way to engage and teach kids.
Then came the technological boom of the 1900's
Radio around 1910
Projectors around 1930
Overhead projector in the 1940's
Tv's in the 1950's-1960's
VCR's in the 1970's
Tape cassettes 1980's
One could argue that one of the most important innovations was the implementation of the computer on a large scale in the 1990's.
This was a game changer as it gave schools an all new and adaptive way to engage and teach kids.
All of this within one century!
Technology has seeped into every corner of our lives.
From our transport, to our communication, even into how we cook our food, so it only made sense to further merge it with our education.
As such We now have SmartBoards (1991ish), SmartTables, laptops (2000) and even smartphones, iPads and all manner of handheld devices.
Technology has seeped into every corner of our lives.
From our transport, to our communication, even into how we cook our food, so it only made sense to further merge it with our education.
As such We now have SmartBoards (1991ish), SmartTables, laptops (2000) and even smartphones, iPads and all manner of handheld devices.
This new era of education has completely changed the way we teach and learn.
For example:
"Students who struggle with language are now able to create multimodal compositions, allowing them to communicate meanings that were once inaccessible or not fully expressed through their printed word." McPherson, K (December 2006). "Wikis and Student Writing".
These technologies enable teachers to use a much more interactive method of teaching using apps and games.
They are becoming almost as much a part of the furniture as the blackboard once was.
"The dynamic nature of video games entices students in a way that simply working toward a grade might not, Chartier says. “Self-motivation does a lot to keep people moving forward,”". Tim Chartier 2013, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
long gone are the days of pages of boring text covered in doodles from past students.
Good riddance to the age of droning voices falling on uninterested ears.
This new manner of engagement has blurred the line between learning and enjoying.
School has become play.
And as we have established, play is how we, as humans, learn best.
'Games in education today'
Games and applications have become far more ingrained in our education in the last handful of years than ever before.
Old favourites like the Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego series and modern day releases of Oregon Trail are still used to this day.
All of the games we've discussed so far fall into a category of games called Edutainment.
Edutainment;
Entertainment (as by games, films, or shows) that is designed to be educational.
The introduction of the smartphone and, availability of handheld devices altogether, has lead to the use of apps, along side their video game counterparts.
Apps such as :
Old favourites like the Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego series and modern day releases of Oregon Trail are still used to this day.
All of the games we've discussed so far fall into a category of games called Edutainment.
Edutainment;
Entertainment (as by games, films, or shows) that is designed to be educational.
The introduction of the smartphone and, availability of handheld devices altogether, has lead to the use of apps, along side their video game counterparts.
Apps such as :
These are but a small drop in the sea that is Educational apps that teachers now have the option of using in the classroom thanks to the technology available. Not all of apps are games by definition but they are a product of the technological advancement and inclusion of interactive mediums in our educational system.
The next two games did not fall into the edutainment category as they were not originally designed to educate.
Their natural educational benefits however caught the eye of a group called Teacher Gaming who took these games and found a way to blend them into our educational systems.
MinecraftEDU
Minecraft was released in 2009 by Markus Persson and was designed as an open world sandbox game.
It has more aptly been described since as an interactive and endless digital lego box.
It was originally created with two modes: survival mode and creative mode.
Survival mode pitted you against the randomly generated world, its weather and creature inhabitants. You needed to build shelter, forage for food and eventually could even make a farm with animals suck as chickens and pigs. You can mine for ores and gems which could be turned into weapons or tools.
Creative mode on the other hand gave you the freedom to simply create without having to worry about surviving. It gave you the ability to create any block or resource you wanted at the touch of a button. This lead to the emergence of a vast community of players, from children to adults alike, who did nothing but create. Whether alone or in groups vast behemoths were constructed from replicas of entire landscapes from fiction, famous star-ships to amazingly crafted roller coasters and thanks to the in-game resource of 'Redstone', which mimics electrical signals, fully working computers!!!
Their natural educational benefits however caught the eye of a group called Teacher Gaming who took these games and found a way to blend them into our educational systems.
MinecraftEDU
Minecraft was released in 2009 by Markus Persson and was designed as an open world sandbox game.
It has more aptly been described since as an interactive and endless digital lego box.
It was originally created with two modes: survival mode and creative mode.
Survival mode pitted you against the randomly generated world, its weather and creature inhabitants. You needed to build shelter, forage for food and eventually could even make a farm with animals suck as chickens and pigs. You can mine for ores and gems which could be turned into weapons or tools.
Creative mode on the other hand gave you the freedom to simply create without having to worry about surviving. It gave you the ability to create any block or resource you wanted at the touch of a button. This lead to the emergence of a vast community of players, from children to adults alike, who did nothing but create. Whether alone or in groups vast behemoths were constructed from replicas of entire landscapes from fiction, famous star-ships to amazingly crafted roller coasters and thanks to the in-game resource of 'Redstone', which mimics electrical signals, fully working computers!!!
And then Teacher Gaming stepped in.
They saw Minecraft as more than just a game. They saw it as a new way to engage with kids and to educate.
They created a modification for Minecraft, Called MinecraftEDU, with the sole purpose of bring the game into classrooms across the world. They used the creative mode and redstone system of minecraft to allow teachers to be able to generate their own custom worlds. These digital classrooms, where the teacher and students log into and interact through, can contain pre built lessons based on almost every subject from geography to science. This is built upon minecraft's already present educational values.
This modification has given teachers a familiar ground in which to teach their students as most of them will have, or at the very least know of, Minecraft.
As of the time of writing they have introduced MinecraftEDU into over 1300 schools across the world.
Due in part to this success they have launched a second initiative.
KerbalEDU.
Due in part to this success they have launched a second initiative.
KerbalEDU.
KerbalEDU.
Using the same methods as they did with minecraft Teacher Gaming have begun the process of modifying the game Kerbal Space Program.
Kerbal Space Program (KSP for short) was created as a multi-genre game where players are tasked with getting a crew of astronauts into space. . . Without killing them.
You are given a compliment of parts in the hangar and must design a space worthy craft. Each part has its own function and every detail effects how the ship will fly.
This game may appear to be a simple and quite fun game, but under the hood its quite intricate. Every variable of your ship is taken into consideration. From the overall weight of the ship to the fuel, to the aerodynamics, everything matters in this game.
When you eventually make it into space you have to worry about staying there. You have to lock yourself into a geosynchronous orbit, keep an eye on your fuel gauges, and from there contemplate tempting a landing or journeying a little further. Maybe even attempt to land on the "Mun" or any of the multitude of planets available. Even set up a Space Station!
“There’s a lot of failure,” said KSP developer Mike Geelan. “But there’s some inspiration to achieve better. It’s an iterative process. The first time, it’s just going to explode. The second time, it might come off the pad. The third time, you might get to 30,000 feet.” Original article.
It is a very trial and error game with a great sense of humour which makes it great for kids.
Teacher Gaming want to use this game as an engaging way to teach kids the above subjects of weight, orbit, trajectory etc.
They are going to teach kids, in a fun and practical way, rocket science.
At the moment KerbalEDU is in the beta phase having been released to 50 test schools this November.
Plans for the educational release include :
- Metric system and the other systems for easier data comparison and integration with other school topics.
- UI improvements for easier data gathering and data summary.
- Premade lessons that circle around special constructions like 'make this airplane better' and so on.
- Robust pedagogy that includes material and ideas outside the actual game, but with heavy connections to it.
Using the same methods as they did with minecraft Teacher Gaming have begun the process of modifying the game Kerbal Space Program.
Kerbal Space Program (KSP for short) was created as a multi-genre game where players are tasked with getting a crew of astronauts into space. . . Without killing them.
You are given a compliment of parts in the hangar and must design a space worthy craft. Each part has its own function and every detail effects how the ship will fly.
This game may appear to be a simple and quite fun game, but under the hood its quite intricate. Every variable of your ship is taken into consideration. From the overall weight of the ship to the fuel, to the aerodynamics, everything matters in this game.
When you eventually make it into space you have to worry about staying there. You have to lock yourself into a geosynchronous orbit, keep an eye on your fuel gauges, and from there contemplate tempting a landing or journeying a little further. Maybe even attempt to land on the "Mun" or any of the multitude of planets available. Even set up a Space Station!
“There’s a lot of failure,” said KSP developer Mike Geelan. “But there’s some inspiration to achieve better. It’s an iterative process. The first time, it’s just going to explode. The second time, it might come off the pad. The third time, you might get to 30,000 feet.” Original article.
It is a very trial and error game with a great sense of humour which makes it great for kids.
Teacher Gaming want to use this game as an engaging way to teach kids the above subjects of weight, orbit, trajectory etc.
They are going to teach kids, in a fun and practical way, rocket science.
At the moment KerbalEDU is in the beta phase having been released to 50 test schools this November.
Plans for the educational release include :
- Metric system and the other systems for easier data comparison and integration with other school topics.
- UI improvements for easier data gathering and data summary.
- Premade lessons that circle around special constructions like 'make this airplane better' and so on.
- Robust pedagogy that includes material and ideas outside the actual game, but with heavy connections to it.
'Each generation shapes the next'
Some generations ago it was decided that every school needed a computer.
The inclusion of that computer and its educational programs shaped the following generation so much that they decided not only should there be one in every classroom but one in the hand of each student.
The technology allowed for this and so too did the rise in apps and games as a medium.
We as a species are in a constant state of flux and forever growing; so too are our methods and tools.
Our children have access to a knowledge-base and engagement that we, who came before them, could only dream of.
In fact we did, and we made that dream a reality.
I for one can't wait to see what the next generation brings to the table.
Gamography:
Monopoly: http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/en_US/
Pocket Anatomy: http://www.pocketanatomy.com/
DragonBox Algebra: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragonbox-algebra-12+/id634444186?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Poems By Heart: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/poems-by-heart-from-penguin/id577789325?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Minecraft: https://minecraft.net/
MinecraftEDU: http://minecraftedu.com/page/, http://www.teachergaming.com/
Kerbal Space Program: https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/
KerbalEDU: http://www.kerbaledu.com/, http://www.teachergaming.com/
Monopoly: http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/en_US/
Pocket Anatomy: http://www.pocketanatomy.com/
DragonBox Algebra: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragonbox-algebra-12+/id634444186?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Poems By Heart: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/poems-by-heart-from-penguin/id577789325?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Minecraft: https://minecraft.net/
MinecraftEDU: http://minecraftedu.com/page/, http://www.teachergaming.com/
Kerbal Space Program: https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/
KerbalEDU: http://www.kerbaledu.com/, http://www.teachergaming.com/
Cited sources:
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-school-replaces-text-books-with-iPads-128609278.html
http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/10/30/kerbaledu-launches-to-bring-kerbal-space-program-to-more-classrooms/
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-school-replaces-text-books-with-iPads-128609278.html
http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/10/30/kerbaledu-launches-to-bring-kerbal-space-program-to-more-classrooms/